Chapter 2: Defining SalvationSaved from the Fall and the First Death

In brief

What does salvation mean in scripture? In its technical sense, salvation means being saved from the “First Death,” the twofold result of Adam’s Fall: physical death and spiritual alienation from God. It is a supernatural rebirth that only God can produce, and it comes by grace. Judgment and reward, by contrast, follow one’s works.

This page summarizes Chapter 2 of Understanding Mormonism: The Restored Gospel of Christ and Its Biblical Foundations in Latter-day Saint Belief by Eugene Seaich (2026 Annotated Edition, edited by Eric Hendrickson). The summary is quoted from the book’s “In brief” and is editorial material, not the author’s words. The full chapter, with its notes and argument, is in the book.

Independent scholarship by Eugene Seaich. Not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.